BENGALURU: The global artificial intelligence (AI) innovation race is intensifying, but so are internal gaps between business ambition and technological execution. According to NetApp’s 2025 AI Space Race report, while 81% of global organisations are piloting or scaling AI and 88% consider themselves ready for transformation, regional disparities and internal misalignments may decide the eventual winners.The study, based on a survey of 800 CEOs and IT leaders across the US, China, UK, and India, found the US to be the most synchronised on AI ambition and execution. In the US, 86% of IT executives and 77% of CEOs reported active AI deployment.

In contrast, China, while bullish at the leadership level, revealed a sharp internal disconnect. Around 92% of Chinese CEOs said they had active AI initiatives, but only 74% of their IT counterparts agreed with them. A similar gap emerged in perceived AI readiness, with 68% of Chinese CEOs believing their firms were ready, while only 58% of IT leaders felt the same. “This divergence in perception may weaken execution, particularly in regions that are prioritising speed over infrastructure,” the report noted.India and the UK trail the US and China in current AI leadership, but both countries show stronger alignment between leadership and tech functions. Interestingly, respondents in India (40%) and the UK (34%) over-indexed on belief in their region’s future AI leadership, well above their global peer averages of 16% and 19%, respectively. The report identified intelligent data infrastructure as the primary determinant of AI success. While integration with core systems was seen as crucial in the US, UK, and India, China uniquely prioritised scalability, with 35% of respondents citing it as the most critical capability, 11 percentage points above the global average. “Winning organisations will be those that invest in secure, scalable data architecture that removes friction from AI deployment,” said Russell Fishman, senior director, product management at NetApp. Despite widespread optimism, 79% of global leaders remain concerned that weak data and cloud strategies could lead to AI failures, ranging from broken models to security breaches.